|Publication number||US8007269 B1|
|Application number||US 11/656,166|
|Publication date||Aug 30, 2011|
|Priority date||Jan 24, 2006|
|Also published as||US8211355, US20110260374|
|Publication number||11656166, 656166, US 8007269 B1, US 8007269B1, US-B1-8007269, US8007269 B1, US8007269B1|
|Inventors||Melvin Otto, Joe Garvin|
|Original Assignee||Future Mold Corporation|
|Export Citation||BiBTeX, EndNote, RefMan|
|Patent Citations (27), Classifications (12), Legal Events (2)|
|External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, Espacenet|
The invention disclosed and claimed herein deals with rotary forming drums that are equipped with a plurality of pivotally mounted insert trays that pivot outward to force a rapid, efficient and complete detachment of formed material from the insert trays. Also disclosed is an integral vacuum distribution and control system for the drum.
Rotary forming drums and the process they are used in are not new to the art. As described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,086,800 issued to Manlove on Jun. 11, 2000 there is a Flat Bed Thermoforming process which is further noted by the citation of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,470,281, 3,578,735, and 3,600,753 therein. Other United States Patents that disclose thermoforming processes using rotary forming drums include U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,814,905, 6,976,835 and 6,394,783.
However, all of these prior art patents fail to disclose a rotary forming drum that has the clear advantages of the instant invention. The novel vacuum distribution and control system of the instant invention allows for rapid induction of molten thermoplastic into the trays of the rotary forming drum. After the vacuum phase is completed the articles of the tray cool proceed along the drum. As they near their exit point the novel trays of the rotary forming drum pivot outward via the cam follower activating the cam roller. The trays move outward, forcing the formed articles from the trays cleanly and efficiently. The trays then are returned to their original position via a set of internal and external return springs. It should be noted that the trays of this invention contain cavities i.e. female molds, as opposed to the projections, i.e. male molds of the prior art.
The invention is a rotary forming drum that has pivoting trays. The trays move outward or upward forcing the molded articles from the trays. A follower cam activates a roller cam moving the tray away from the rotary forming drum, and then a set of internal and external springs returns the tray to its original position. The drum incorporates a unique and novel distribution and control vacuum system allowing a zone of the drum to remain under constant vacuum as the trays of the drum pass through the zone. The vacuum draws the thermoformed plastic into the insert trays within the vacuum zone allowing for consistent forming along the entire vacuum zone of the rotary forming drum.
Thus, what is disclosed and claimed herein is a rotary forming drum for forming thermoplastic materials comprising in combination a vacuum distribution and control system, a plurality of pivoting trays connecting two spaced-apart drums, wherein the vacuum distribution and control system comprises a vacuum zone, wherein the vacuum zone comprises a vacuum induction plate, a vacuum zone plate and a vacuum adaptor plate.
The vacuum induction plate is mounted to the rotary forming drum and contains a plurality of openings through it for vacuum distribution. The vacuum zone plate surmounts the induction plate and has an arcuate slot adjoining a portion of the openings through the induction plate.
The adaptor plate is surmounted on the vacuum zone plate with an opening through it to permit vacuum flow through it. There are vacuum hoses connecting the vacuum distribution and control system to the trays. Each of the pivoting trays is controlled by a roller cam, a cam follower, internal return springs, and external return springs, such that each pivoting tray is capable of outward movement away from the rotary forming drum. The cam follower and the roller cam effect this movement.
Not shown are the internal return spring 96. These springs 96 are internal to the drum and support the return of the tray 4 to its original position.
The instant device is a rotary forming drum 2 with pivoting insert trays 4. The drum 2 is mounted on a drive axle 20. The drum is equipped with an internal vacuum distribution and control system 32. The insert trays 4 are mounted to the rotary forming drum 2 and use vacuum induction to draw molten thermoformed plastic within the confines of the inserts 22 producing a finished plastic product. The trays 4 are manufactured with passages that run from the base of the insert trays 4 to vacuum hoses 106 of the drum 2. The vacuum hoses 106 of the drum 2 are also manufactured for passage that allows the transmission of vacuum from the induction plate 30 to the insert tray 4 openings 66 providing the fluid transmission to the insert trays 4. These vacuum hoses 106 are supplied with the vacuum as it is received through a series of plates that allow the transfer to be performed in a measured quantity based upon the amount of time the vacuum induction plate 30 openings 32 are shown in conjunction with the vacuum zone plate 36. Before openings 32 reach the arcuate opening or vacuum zone slot 38 in the vacuum zone plate 36 there is no effect upon them or their internal vacuum system. However, once an opening is exposed to the vacuum zone 38 of the vacuum zone plate 36 the vacuum will draw the molten thermoformed plastic within the insert trays confines and the thermoformed plastic will remain under the effects of the vacuum until the opening passes beyond the arcuate opening or vacuum zone slot in the vacuum zone plate 36. Once the vacuum is no longer present a cam follower acts upon a roller cam activating or moving the insert tray 4 away from the drum 2 reducing the angle at which the product is removed from the insert tray 4 and the drum 2. This pivoting motion of the insert tray 4 provides a cleaner more effective release of the product form the inserts 22 creating a higher quality product.
The vacuum system 32 consists of the vacuum adaptor plate 42, the vacuum zone plate 36, and a vacuum induction plate 30, and a series of vacuum hoses 106 that span from the induction plate 30 to the insert trays 4. When the vacuum is activated those openings 44 of the induction plate 30 that are currently over the vacuum slot 38 of the vacuum zone plate 36 are activated placing each insert 22 on that particular tray 4 to induce a vacuum, subjecting the thermoformed plastic to be inducted within the insert 22 forming the product. The rotation of the drum is continuous and the drum and its vacuum and pivoting tray movements are therefore repeated constantly through the thermoforming process.
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|U.S. Classification||425/342.1, 425/442, 264/87, 425/388|
|International Classification||B29C51/00, B28B1/52, B28B21/08|
|Cooperative Classification||B29C2791/006, B29C51/225, B29C51/262|
|European Classification||B29C51/26B2, B29C51/22B|
|Jan 22, 2007||AS||Assignment|
Owner name: FUTURE MOLD CORPORATION, MICHIGAN
Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNORS:OTTO, MELVIN;GARVIN, JOE;REEL/FRAME:018836/0693
Effective date: 20061207
|Feb 27, 2015||FPAY||Fee payment|
Year of fee payment: 4